I’m just wondering, what was the longest time someone has been sentenced to imprisonment for a single count of a crime(like, a count of murder, a count of larceny)?
Depending on circumstances, one count of first-degree murder can get you life without possibility of parole. Can’t get any longer than that.
Is life without possibility of parole really life without possibility of parole, or do some people still somehow manage to get released from such a sentence?
Life without possibility of parole means just that, no parole hearings, no parole. Not all life sentences are life without parole.
Well, I read* that a man was sentenced to about 40 000 years in prison, but that was for multiple crimes. So while a man can get sentenced for life, with no parole, he isn’t going to love 40 000 years or even 150 years.
I’ll rephrase it:
How long has a man been sentenced for a single crime where it was unlikely he would never, ever complete it(and also excluding life without parole)?
- Guiness Book of World Records, 1990 edition.
Didn’t James Earl Ray get 99 years for Killing Dr. Martin Luther King?
I’m afraid that’s still ambiguous, since it ties it to the likelihood of the particular individual completing it.
For example, a 75 year old person and a 25 year old person could each get a sentence of 20 years. Assuming no parole, odds are the 25 year old will be able to complete the sentence, but I would think the odds would be against the 75 year old doing so.
If I should be allowed a shot at interpreting the posts of the Dearly Departed, I think SSA was asking what is the biggest number of years ever handed down for a single count of something. He specifically excludes such constructions as life without parole and, presumably, the death sentence.
I’m curious, if anyone wants a second shot at this thread.